Best Places93962, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93962, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
93962 ranks 26,059th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 93962
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
93962's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93962 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 225 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 93962 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93962
A household needs to earn about $233,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93962 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,165, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 93962's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 93962
93962 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93962.
Who works in 93962, and how
Work in 93962 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 93962
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 93962, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93962, month by month
93962 sees roughly 225 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 72 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 72° | 62° | 55° |
| October | 78° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 93962
The nearest airport, Monterey Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93962
Schools across 93962 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Spreckels ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buena Vista MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93962 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93962 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 93962 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93962
Is 93962 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93962 ranks 26,059th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and big-city access, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93962 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $885,445. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $85,165 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 93962 safe?
93962 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,071 per resident a year.
Compare 93962 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93962. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93962 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
93962 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93962: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93962: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93962: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93962: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93962 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.